Second Best
by bugsandbeauty
Summary: Warning! This is not a GrissomSara romance fic. Thank you:) I don't know if I will leave this as a one shot or add some chapters to fill in previous events.


Second Best  
  
by Bugs and Beauty  
  
AN: Warning! This is not a Grissom/Sara romance fic. Thank you:) I don't know if I will leave this as a one shot or add some chapters to fill in previous events.  
  
From the evidence room, I can hear the click of her shoes as she walks down the hall. I still get a rush of feeling about her merely walking my way, even after all these months. I have learned to control myself enough to not raise my head and wait for her. I don't need to openly pine for her attention. Nick is working in the lab with me on this case. He does not even move his head from the evidence but he knows that I know that Sara is walking down the hall.  
  
*click click* Her steps slow a bit as Catherine comes around the corner. I remember that when Sara first came to work here, Catherine had no intention of being friendly with her. I move my head just enough to watch them talking together. While they are still not friends, there is no more animosity between them. I see Sara nod her head and hand over a file to Catherine.   
  
Nick nudges a piece of fabric over to me. I smile at him and look at it under the microscope. He just grins his easy boy Texas grin at me. I feel a blush rise to my face. Sara and I have not been together long enough for the blush to fade. I am not sure I ever want it to fade.   
  
*click click* Her footsteps take up their march. Closer and closer to me. Now my mind is most definitely not on the evidence. I raise my head just above the lens of the microscope. My hand touches the box in my pocket. I have never been serious about any woman until I met her. Now, I cannot imagine my life with any other woman at all.   
  
My search for the perfect ring started four months ago. It is not enough for her to have a ring worth two month's salary. I have always wanted to do twice as good by her as any other man in her life. Hank was never a problem. Hell, Ecklie would do better by Sara than Hank. I see Nick's eyes trail to where my head in on my pocket. I know he understands how important tonight is to me. To her. To us.  
  
Her steps have slowed and then stopped completely. I wonder if she needs something. I almost get up and leave the room. As I reach the door, I can see her talking with Grissom. I don't want her to talk to Grissom.   
  
More importantly, I don't want him to talk to her.   
  
I have spent every night of my working life since Sara has been here, watching the cat and mouse game they played with each other. I saw the feints, the hints, the denials and I even made a wager with the other guys when they would give it up and make it official.   
  
They never did. I knew it was over when the lab exploded and she was hurt. She asked him out. That much I heard through the grapevine. He said no. Fool. I took a chance and asked her out. Just to see what happens, I said to her at the time. She had blinked at me then said yes.   
  
They still work cases together. They still joke together. Neither mentions her asking him out. He does not mention our dating to me. I doubt he says anything to her. I also know he still flirts with her. My jaw clenches when he touches her shoulder.   
  
The beginning of our relationship had its own problems. She was getting over Grissom and I was getting over Grissom's attention to her. In the end she convinced me I was not the second choice. Even if I was in the beginning, Grissom did not fight for her. I did.  
  
Sara's head raises up and she flashes me her million watt smile. I smile back at her and walk inside the room. Nick is looking at me with an empathetic expression on his face.   
  
"Care to talk about it man?" He offer sup in his best Texas cowboy imitation.   
  
I feel the ring in my pocket. After tonight, I won't have to worry about being second ever again. "Nah." I step back over to the microscope and study the fabric.   
  
"Whatever you say Greggo."  
  
The End 


End file.
